Shotgun cartridge



Jan. 31, 1933. H. w. BROWNSDON El AL ,0

SHOTGUN CARTRIDGE Filed NOV. 28, 1951.

F/G. 3 FIG. 4

WPM

Patented Jan. 31, 1933 HENRY WINDER imow vsnoiv, or-raosnrny, BIRMINGHAM, WALTER RULE N'IMMO, or BUSHEY HEATH, Annencaen rarer: rormrr'r, or rrrnerm, roimoiv, ENGLAND, ASSIGNORS To IMPERIAL CHEMICAL nvnusrarns LIMITED, A coarone'rron OF GREAT BRITAIN SHOTG'UN CARTRIDGE -Application filed November 28, 1931, Serial No. 577,830, and in Great Britain November 29, 1930.

This invention relates to shot gun cartridges containing one or more pellets for indicating the path of the shot charge. Such tracer pellets usually consist of a thin metal shell containing a compressed lightor smokeproducing composition adapted to be "ignited either by the powder gases gen erated when thecartridge is fired, or by concussion or friction against the shot.

. The range of such a tracer pellet is usually appreciably greater, owing to the Weight of the necessary tracing composition and of the container, than that of ordinary shot, and this gives rise to a certain element of danger when the Cartridge is fired. It is one of the objects of the present invention to produce a tracer pellet of the kind describedwhich will have a range not greatly diiferent from that of ordinary shot.

This object is accomplished according to the invention by making a tracer pellet the component metallic parts of which become separated or disintegrated during or after the'flight of the pellet over the effective tracing range. These component parts being much lighter than the pellet as a whole, have a much shorter range, e. g. 8 0100 metres as compared with 300 metres.

The invention consists, therefore, in a shot gun tracer pellet of the kind described, the

' metallic portion of which is adapted to disintegrate during flight and thereby reduce the range of the pellet and enable it to approximate to that of ordinary shot. Thus the metal container forming part of the pellet may be made of metal of relatively low melting-point which is fused during flight and thus becomes disintegrated of its own accord, or a thin metal container of relatively high melting point can be used in conjunction with a mass of metal of low meltingpoint which is fused during flight andthus becomes detached from the container. The mass of metal of low melting-point may be located inside, or wholly outside, or partly inside and partly outside the contain-er, in the last case being thereby attached to the container, for example by forming a nose of metal of low melting-point upon a perforated shell of metal of relatively high melting-point, the first metal extending through the perforated shell into the interior of the same and overlapping the internal surface thereof. The container may also be made in parts which are joined'together, for eXample along longitudinal or transverseseams, by means of solder or the like, which will melt during flight and permit the parts of the.

container to become separated. Finally, a small charge of erz'ploslve, e. g. gunpowder,

may be included in the pellet; which is copper or brass, for example 0.037-005 cm.

in thickness, 0.6 cm. in diameter and 0.8 cm. in length. The pellet is closed at one end by the plug f lead or alloy of low melting-point and the internal surface of the plug is preferably dished as shown, and a charge 3 of tracing composition, e. g., barium peroxide/magnesium, gunpowder/magne sium, or strontium nitrate, is pressed thereon. Over the compressed tracing composition 3 is placed a layer 4 of lightly pressed priming composition, which may be the same material as the tracing composition 3 if the pellet is to be ignited by the powder gases; alternatively where the pellet is to be ignited by percussion or friction, the layer 4 may consist of a priming composition sensitive to percussion or friction, such as for example a mer cury fulminate composition as used in percussion caps.

The pellet as a whole may weigh, for example 1.31.6 grams, including say 0.16 grams of heavily pressed tracer composition and 0.03 grams of lightly pressed composition for priming purposes.

When such a tracing pellet is fired from a shot gun, by the time the burning pellet has travelled, for the desired tracing range, which may be to 100 metres, the plug 2 willhave melted owing to the heat developed by the burning, and will have become separated from the container 1. In order to overcome the tendency. of the molten metal to adhere to the container, alloys of very low meltingpoint, e. g. below 100 C. should be used. The range travelled before disintegration occurs may be regulated by varying the composition, i. e. the melting-point, shape and thickness 'of the plug 2. lVhen the pellet contains only comparatively small amounts of tracing composition, the melting-point of the fusible plug should bechosen correspondingly low so as to ensure fusion taking place.

Referring to Figure 2, the arrangement of the pellet is the same as in-Figure 1, except that a charge-5 of gun-powder or other explosiveis located between the plug 2 and the ntracing composition 3/ A centrally perfo- 2.o

rated disc6 separates the tracing composition 3' from the explosive 5, and the latter is ignited when th tracing composition is nearly consumed, i. e. when the pellet has nearly reached the end of its effecting tracing path. The

charge 5 then explodes and disintegrates the pellet. In this case the plug 2 need notbe made of fusible metal, but it is preferable to make it of such, although alloys of very low melting-point are not required as there is no possibility of the molten metal adhering to the container as in the case ofFigure 1.

Referring to Figure 3, the thin metal container 1 is embedded in a hollow plug 2 of fusible metal, the side walls of the container being thus covered with a thin layer of the fusible metal. The arrangement of the fusible-metal on the exterior of the container reduces the tendency for the molten metal to adhere to the same. In an alternative construction the container. 1 is dispensed with and the fusible metal-shell alone acts as container; in this'case fair results areobtained if powder gas ignition is used, but the contamer is took weak to stand percuss on ignition. v

Referring to Figure 4, the thin metal con tainer 1 is somewhatshorter in length than that illustrated in Figure 1, and the base is perforated centrallyso that the plug 2 of fusible metal may be pressed in a die over the base of the container and the soft metal will flow through the perforation and form a rivet headinside the container as shownat 7. The tracing composition 3 and primer 4 are arranged as in Figure 1.

Finally, in any of the constructions illus- I trated in Figures 14 the container may be made in parts which are joined together, for

example, along longitudinal or transverse seams, by means of solder or the like, which will melt during flight. and permit the parts of the container to become separated. The same may be done evenwhen no plug or mass of fusible the container.

metal is used'inco'njunctionwith As any apparently widely diflerent em.-

bodiments of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to'the specific embodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims. o p

What is' claimed is:

' 1. A shot gun tracer pellet comprising a metallic portion, and means causing-said metallic portion to disintegrate during flight and thereby reduce the range of the pellet and enable it to approximate that of ordinary shot.

- 2. A shot gun tracer pellet which comprises a metal container of low melting-point which is fused during flightand thus becomes disintegrated of its ownaccord. V

3. A shot gun tracer pellet which comprises a thin metal container of "relatively. high melting-point and a mass of metal of lowmelting-point which is fused during flight and thus becomes detached from the container. Y

4. A prises athin metal container of relatively high melting-point and a mass of metal of shot gun tracer pellet whichv com;

low melting-point which is fused during flight and thus becomes detached from the melting-point, the first metal extending its through the perforated-shell into the interior Y? of the same andoverlapping the-internal surface thereof. I

7. A shot gun tracer pellet in which the container is made in parts which are joinedtogether, by means of solder which will melt (-1:

during flight and permit the parts of the container to become separated.

8. A shot gun tracer pellet having a range approximating that of ordinary shot,,com

prising a compressed tracing composition adapted to burn during flight, and a metallic portion adapted to disintegrate during flight through the action ofthe heat liberated by the burning of the said tracing composition.

. 9. A shot gun tracer pellet comprising'a compressed tracing composition, a metallic portion, and anexplosive charge. adapted to disintegrate the said metallic portion when the tracer composition is nearly consumed.

10. Ashot'gun tracer pellethavingarange approxlmatmg that of ordinary shot com-- 

